Refrigerator



Patentes Dec. 9, 1924.

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UNHTED STATS PATENT OFFECE.

JOSEPH NEMEC, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

nnrmennaron.

' iApplicaton filled October 29, 1923. Serial No. 671,541.

To allavhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH NEMEC, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Refrigerators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerators or ice boxes,A and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide anice box or refrigerator which is primarily designed for use in dining cars, and in which the objection known as sweating is obviated.

A further ob'ect of my invention is to provide a device o the type described, in which the water from the melting ice is prevented from entering the food chamber, and in which an eilicient circulation of air is maintained.

A. further' object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the shelves are so arranged that they may be easily removed or replaced, as when it is desired to flush the refrigerator.

Other objects Aand advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the inventionwill be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompaying drawings, forming part of this application, in which-.

Figure 1 is a vertical section line 1--1 of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a vertical section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and e Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

In carryin out my invention, ll provide an outer casing 1, preferably of wood or other nonconducting material. rlihe bottom of this casing consists preferably of a layer of concrete 2 sloping in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 2. Secured lto the outer walls 1 and embedded in the concrete are angle irons, such as that shown at 3 in Figures l and 2, and disposed on the angle iron 3 are angle irons 4 which `support slats 5 surmounted by a sheet metal top 6, thus forming a slanting drain board, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.v

Disposed above along the the drain board are angle iron supports 7 for a gratin 8. This grating is formed of wooden bars which are pivotally connected at 9 with other bars 10, disposed between the bars 8, so that when swung at right angles to them, it will provide a grating back of the ice 11 in the lower compartment,` as well as a support 8 for the ice to rest upon. These gratings, as vwill be seen from Figures l and 2, are made irli) 1two sections, which are separately remova e.

On the interior of the casing are vertically extending angle irons 12 and 13 respectively. In the corners of these angle irons are integral triangular-shaped webs 14, upon which are mounted transversely extending angle irons 15, which are arranged to support metal shelves 16 having perforations 17, the edges of these metal shelves being turned down to form flanges which rest on the angle irons 15. i

In the drawings I have shown vertically extending wooden strips 18. On one side of these strips is a metal lining 19 which is perforated. On the opposite side of the verticallv extending strips 18 is a series of slats 20, which have ar portion bent away from the metal lining 19. The bent portion overhangs the upper end of the next .lower adjacent slat, as will he clearly seen from the drawing. The upper i'ce compartment is provided with a grating'21, yupon which the ice 22 is placed. One end of this gratingv is supported on an angle iron 22 which is secured to vertically -extending irons 23. 0n the opposite side of the chamber are bent angle irons 24. These irons aid in supporting metal plates 25, 26 and 27, the plates 25 and 27 being spaced from the plate 26 by means of wooden spacing blocks or strips 28. Below the grating 21 is an inclined par- SII y tition 29, while below the partition l29 is a substantially parallel plate 30. The partitions are spaced apart by means of strips 31 therebetween, and are secured in position in any suitable manner.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. In the ordinary dining car refrigerator, great inconvenience is experienced because of the fact that the ice in the upper compartment cools the partition just below it, whlch in the l ordinary construction forms the ceiling of the food compartment. This results in ated. It will be noted that ice is placed in the lower compartment through the door 32, while food may be placed in the intermediate compartments through the door 433. The food being warmer, tends to cause an up-v ward current of air. This current reaches thelinclined portion 26a of the partition 26,

' l* partitions 29 and f 30.

andis deflected in the manner shown by the arrow. The partition 26 is provided with an opening 26", and the partition 25 has an opening 25". A current of air may pass through these openings 26" and 25b into the upper compartment. As the icein the upperv compartment melts, it drips down on the partition 29 which is inclined, and the water runs to a position where it will drip down on the slats 20, that is .to say, away from the food chamber.. Part of the current of air,

however, will fall down between the upper Any moisture or sweating on the partition 29, or an drip'- ping from such sweating will be received by Ithe partition 30, and such moisture Will be carried out, as shown bythe arrow. In other words, by providing a double wall between the upper ice chamber andthe food chamber,` and also by providing means whereby the air may carry away the moisture in thisfpassage, any danger of sweating is positively obviated, so' that the food'in the food chamber is always kept dry, as far as any dripping from the ordinary condensation of 'moisture is concerned. The. water passes down, dripping from one'slat to another, while at the same time there is provision for the entrance of air through the partition 19. -This tends to permit a free circulation, which is of course desirable, but

the arrangement is such that the water can not enter'the compartments. It falls to the bottom and is carrled by the drain board out through a drain openinge34 in a door 35, which mayleadto any suitable source Vof discharge.

It'will be noted that the grids or grating 8 and 21, as wellas the-shelves 16, are in two sections.J qrdinarily, ashelf whichis in one section must be tilted to go through a door'which is narrower than the width of the shelf@ In the present instance, it is not necessary to tilt the shelves or the grates, since onefhalf of the shelf may be lifted independently and passed out through the door, without tilting. This renders the removal or the replacement of the shelves or grates easy, as for instance, when the refrigerator is bein flushed.

When it is desired to flush the refrigerator, the shelves may be removed, as stated, and such iiushing can take place, and the provision of the swing door 35 is such that it will open to drain the refrigerator, when an abnormal How of water occurs, as where compartment, a double walled inclined par-l tition separating said food compartment from said ice compartment, said ice conipartment draining into the space between the casing and said perforated wall, and a series of Vslats disposed between said casing and said perforated wall, the lower ends o'f the slats being bent toward the casing to overhang the upper ends of the adjacent lower slats, whereby the water from the ice chamber is prevented from entering through the yopenings in the perforated wall, while air is permitted to so enter.

2. A refrigerator comprising an outer casing` a vertically disposed perforatedV partition within the casing, the space between the partition and the adjacent wall .of the "casing constituting a water drain, a series of slats having portions bent toward the outer casing for kpreventing the entrance of water through the perforated partition, the space on the opposite side of said perforated partition constituting apfood chamber, an upper ice chamber, an inclined double' walled partition between said upper ice chamber and said food chamber, an air passage extending upwardly from said food chamber and having communication with said ice chamber and with the space between the walls of said inclined partition,'and means for conducting the water from the melting ice and con-` densed moisture betweenthe walls of the inclined partition into the watei'.diain.

JOSEPH NEMEC. 

